


Predators

by scribensdracones



Series: One-Shots for Friends [7]
Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon, Seduction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26920483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribensdracones/pseuds/scribensdracones
Summary: After Muzaka takes the throne, Maduke gets more than just comforting words from Lagus.
Relationships: Maduke/Lagus Tradio
Series: One-Shots for Friends [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759711
Kudos: 4





	Predators

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foggywizard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggywizard/gifts).



Yes, Lord. Of course, Lord. Thank you, Lord. As you wish, Lord. I will take care of it for you, Lord. Your will be done, Lord. For centuries, Maduke had kept his head down because he knew that one day, it would be his turn. One day he'd overcome the Lord and the wheel would turn upon him as custom demanded. The apprentice must always overthrow the master. Yet when someone else casts the master off his throne and steals everything, what is the apprentice supposed to do, then?  
Everyone knew that Muzaka was strong. Everyone knew that he had his own ideas about how things should be done. Yet no one had expected him to challenge the Lord. His sudden ascension had blindsighted everyone and left Maduke with nothing but the bitter knowledge that the throne was out of his reach now. No one could beat a beast like Muzaka. Lord Fenrir come again, an invincible man. What was a man to do when his hard work was set to never pay off? If he were dismissed, maybe he could have lived with this. But no. Lord Muzaka must humiliate him further first. He would continue to serve - and he served well, better than anyone else would be able to. A Lord who needed to be taught how to do his own job. Pathetic. 

When they visited Lukedonia so Muzaka may present himself to the Lord of nobles, such as politeness demanded, Maduke split off and strayed to visit an old friend. The Tradio gardens were always worth a walk and their clan leader, Lagus, was always worth a visit. Freshly brewed tea and juicy fruits freshly plucked from the gardens. 

"What's with that face?" Lagus poured them two cups of tea, the scent of mint and some other herbs strong and fragrant. "You could make evergreens wilt with such an aura."

"The Lord is dead."

"And not by your hand, I presume. Or other circumstances that would have been in your favour, no doubt."

"No." Maduke picked up a pomegranate from the bowl. Red and firm. Seized by a flight of rage, he crushed it in his fist and juice ran through his fingers and dripped on his trousers like blood. Lagus shook his head in disapproval. "Muzaka defeated him. And no one beats Muzaka. He never lost a single fight." He'd taken blows that would have killed weaker warriors. That wasn't a man. That was a monster. He would never be Lord. Not with Muzaka being significantly younger than him. He couldn't even outwait that bastard. Maduke suppressed a growl and simply reached for a tissue to wipe his hand clean. 

"I could poison him," Lagus offered with a most amiable smile before taking a sip of tea. Finding it not quite to his taste yet, he added a spoonful of honey. "I have all kinds of poison. Make him bleed out from the inside. Stop his heart. Sleep forever. Agony for hours, if you want to punish him for taking your place first."

Maduke wasn't sure whether Lagus meant it or not but the words made him smile all the same. It was nice to imagine Muzaka winding on the floor, coughing up blood and beging for someone to put him out of this misery. The mere thought calmed him at least a bit. Lagus chuckled amiably. "Now that's much better."

He set down his tea and stepped around the low table to sit on the canape next to Maduke. "What a shame. After all this time... Centuries of preparation are swept away just like this. Everything you wanted out of your reach. The power and the glory. The responsibility and the duties. But you would have shouldered it all." His fingers briefly ran over Maduke's shoulder as if he brushed something off his coat. 

"I should be Lord. Not Muzaka. I was the one who trained for centuries to be a Lord. A leader. A protector!" He stood up, feeling restless, and fell into pacing up and down. Like a caged animal. It reminded Lagus of a tiger. Of powerful muscles under supple fur. An apex predator under his thumb. Lord or not, he never met a predator like Maduke. He was a dangerous man always trying to hide the darkness within. Lagus found it morbidly alluring. 

"You will be Lord," he declared and Maduke stopped pacing. Lagus leaned back and patted the space next to him. "I know you too well. Giving up is not your style." No. Once Maduke had set his eyes on something, all demons in hell should better stay out of his way. Lagus was no different though. He had set his eyes on something too.   
Maduke returned to the canape and sat next to Lagus. "No. And I will make Muzaka regret having been born before I kill him," he confirmed and that ice-cold determination in his yellow eyes was thrilling. He was a killer and Lagus missed that hard edge among nobles. An exotic rarity. "I will take more from him than just the throne and his life. I want his pride. His dignity. His reputation. His will to live. I want it all."

Lagus leaned in to close the distance between their faces and Maduke jolted back in surprise, taken aback by the sudden attempt at intimacy. He cleared his throat with a chuckle. He'd really gotten ahead of himself like a lustful old goat. "Do pardon my directness," he started and reached out to brush the strand of hair out of Maduke's face. It was handsome, actually. Of strong build with magnificently sharp cheekbones that rivaled his sharp wit. 

"Is that how you see me?" Maduke almost laughed, though there was also a hint of disgust and discomfort to his tone. Suddenly, he pushed back, half hovering over Lagus with one hand next to his face. When you got too close to a wild animal, an observer could easily turn into the prey. 

One didn't need to be a mind-reader to tell what was going on in Lagus' head. The well respected jovial clan leader had a dark side too. Was he just like him, desperately yearning to unleash it? Maduke laughed. "Is it me you want or those little fantasies of being someone else? Am I who you wish you could be?"  
"My teeth and claws are just as sharp asyours. It's been so long since I met someone who could be my equal." He pushed Maduke back, grabbing him by the collar to fix him in place. "I'm just better at hiding it."

The werewolf laughed raspedly. He really had no interest in men, but - was this the price to have Lagus as an ally? Would he still be so eager to make promises if he were to reject this advance? He simply pulled Lagus in for an almost aggressive kiss. If this was the price he'd have to pay to have someone help him turn out on top in the end, he'd play along. 

Maduke always fancied himself an apex predator in all senses but today Lagus proved that they both were predators.


End file.
